Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book started out slow and drawn out. It is written in a very simplistic fashion- almost like you are reading a children's book- and things are unnecessarily repetitive. If it wasn't for NetGalley, I probably would have quit and moved onto something different. However, about half way through, it picked up speed and got more interesting. I was vested in finding out what came next and how all the characters were going to tie together. The story was predictable, but in the end, enjoyable. I enjoyed the characters of Harriet and Six Thirty very much. I stand for everything Elizabeth was fighting for and motivating her fans to stand up and see their worth! She stuck to her guns, though it made life difficult. It was a cute fluff read.

I looked up some other reviews and this was stated as "for fans of Where'd you Go Bernadette". For what it's worth, I did not enjoy the style of that book either, but did enjoy that book when I read it again for book club. I would say these two books would appeal to the same audience.

I join a long list of reviewers who give this book 5 enthusiastic stars. Like these reviewers, I, too, was drawn deeply into this quirky and charming book. I also immediately contacted one of my reader friends to exhort them- “you gotta read this book!” This is truly a special story. I will say though, that the cover mislead me and I can’t imagine that the main character, Elizabeth Zott, would have approved of it. Yes, it’s attractive, but the cover made me think this was a rom-com. Elizabeth would never read, yet alone appear, in a romantic comedy.

Character driven, with a bit of magical realism, this book is about Elizabeth, chemist, mother, tv star. As fascinating as Elizabeth is, it’s the dog in the story who steals the show and who truly keeps his human family going. Another unforgettable character is Elizabeth’s young daughter, “Mad”. She seems like a genius, but according to Elizabeth, she is not- she’s just well-taught (by Elizabeth). Most reviewers mention these three characters only, but let’s not forget several other endearing characters: Elizabeth’s interfering but stalwart neighbor, Elizabeth’s TV boss, and Wakely the minister. OK, I’ll also give a shout-out to Elizabeth’s obstetrician and all the rowers. And then there’s Evan.

With humor, wit, heart, and earnest naivety, Elizabeth takes on the world of the 1950’s-60 in California. She is a chemist, who knocks out her kitchen to make a lab, and who brews coffee in a twenty-step process using a Bunsen burner. Not surprisingly, her world is not ready for an independent, scientific, slightly off-kilter woman. As you read, you may get caught up in the wit and humor, and Elizabeth’s whirl as a TV cooking show host is fabulous. But there are serious themes in this book. Many reviewers mention the discrimination of women, but hardly any mention the criticism of God and religion.

I also agree that this book deserves to be a top book of 2022. Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

This book is absolutely outstanding.

Elizabeth Zott has, in the early 1960s, managed to earn a masters degree in chemistry. She leaves grad school without a PhD after being sexual assaulted by a professor and then being denied justice. She ends up at Hastings Research Institute, where she finds the love of her life, a Nobel-nominated chemist.

Life happens, though, and she ends up creating and hosting a wildly popular television cooking show.

Much of the unfairness and inequality that Elizabeth faces can still be seen now, 60 years later. The honest reader can recognize every single act of jealousy, bias, and inequality that is portrayed in the book. (And I am a man who is willing to admit that I am almost certainly tone-deaf to many of the more subtle injustices that women experience daily.)

But do not think this is a tedious sermon on misogyny. I found myself laughing aloud at numerous places throughout the book. And there are wonderful characters in addition to Elizabeth, and many of the women find that they are more than what they have been told they are. (I must state, too, that Six-Thirty is a dog who deserves a great name.)

Any woman who has ever experienced discrimination on her job will identify with Elizabeth Zott, chemist. Growing up in a totally dysfunctional family, she managed to educate herself by going to libraries in the various towns in which her family lived. She had hoped to enter a PhD program, but when she is assaulted by her mentor, she takes a job at a small lab where women are barely accepted as professionals. She meets the golden boy of chemistry Calvin Evans and they become friends. Naturally everyone things he is assisting her advancement and she denies it. No one believes a woman can succeed on her own merits. Elizabeth proves them wrong and in the process becomes a celebrity chef on TV empowering millions of women. A terrific book about the power of a single woman in changing the status quo

I'm so confused about this book, if I enjoyed it or not. It's probably the oddest book I can remember reading - but it was really interesting, too. For some reason, I just didn't connect to these characters - and the dog seemed to have the most feeling.

It took a while to get into the story - it drags a bit in the beginning, after the two main characters meet - but it makes sense to draw it out, because it's all part of their personalities. I'm partially frustrated for Elizabeth fighting so hard to be recognized for her science work and equally frustrated that she let it continue to happen. But she does adapt well to the changes in her life and has a straight forward approach to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a digital, temporary ARC in return for my review.

I was reminded of the work of Sor Juana De La Cruz in reading this fantastic novel about how a woman is able to discover and practice science in her life, against all odds. There is sadness in the story, but Garmus's sense of humor shines through the entire story and makes for enjoyable reading throughout. As Elizabeth says, "Once women figure out chemistry, they'll be able to figure out the rest of the world." Hooray for Elizabeth and hooray for Bonnie Garmus and this amazing novel!

Elizabeth Zott is trying to break into chemistry in the 1950s when women are not scientists. She meets Calvin Evans, a reclusive prize winning chemist who shares her social awkwardness and a bleak childhood. The two fall in love but tragedy strikes. Five years later Elizabeth is an unemployed single mom. When she can’t find work in a lab, she hosts an afternoon cooking show,Dinner at Six. She teaches cooking as if it’s chemistry and encourages women to follow this dreams. Bonnie Garmus has created an outstanding group of characters as well as recreating what life was like in 1960. Elizabeth’s daughter, Mad Zott, is my favorite. She brings poignancy but also hilarity to the novel. Even the dog, Six thirty, has a well developed personality. Most of the characters are principled and likable. This story is original and the writing is straightforward. I taught chemistry so I enjoyed the science based lessons. I highly recommend it. I thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This one gets you. For the longest time I couldn't figure out how the book was going to turn and then when I thought I had it just hit me in all the feels. The character development of Elizabeth had me at times wishing how the author could be so cruel throwing another thing at her. I'm not if this is a true story or based on a true story but the details and events were so realistic I could imagine everything happening to a female scientist in the 1960''s as described.
Although this books follows a female chemist- Elizabeth Zott- don't dismiss this as a book about science. There are some fantastic life lessons learned by the characters throughout the novel.

You'll cheer, cry, be angry, and perhaps ultimately feel triumph as you journey on the highs and lows and learn a few things about chemistry.

TW: violence against women and suicide

A throughly wonderful book about a uniquely extraordinary woman Elizabeth Zoltan. Smart, honest and completely original. When being a chemist doesn’t work she becomes a star of a cooking show much to her own displeasure, rolling with life’s ups and downs this heroine is not to be ignored.

Elizabeth Zott is a scientist, a chemist. The problem is that she is living in the late 1950s to early '60s when no one took a woman scientist seriously. We are brought into her world of sexual harassment and abuse, her ideas and accomplishments being ignored, and her work being stolen by men, but Elizabeth is not one to be toyed with. With her, we experience an uncompromising ride through a misogynistic world.

With humor and wonderful characters, including a child reading Faulkner at age 5 and a dog who knows over 900 words, the author makes us care deeply about Elizabeth and understand the plight of the women of the time.

It is a glorious book that I could not put down.

I enjoyed this blast from the past - though I was incensed at being reminded of how unfairly women were treated just a few decades ago. This book is strong on dry wit and female empowerment. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I just loved this book! First it's highly readable and I wanted to keep reading to see what. happened next. Then the characters are distinct and interesting folks that you'd like to meet. An extra star for me for the historical reference and flashback to to world of women in the not distant past. All in all this is a book I'll recommend to my friends! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book
This book
THIS BOOK!!!!!

I loved every word, letter, punctuation mark.

Bonnie Garmus- you have written a book that I can honestly say I wanted to hug when I was done.

Elizabeth, Calvin, Wakely, Mad, Harriet, Pine, Six Thirty and all the rest (well not the Hastings boys)... they now own a piece and place in my heart.

I have never highlighted book passages...with this book there are to many to count.

Gems everywhere.

When this book is published in 2022, people will be so lucky to meet all these people!

What a BOOK!!!
This is a character driven story of Elizabeth Zott and company. Elizabeth is an amazing heroine, a strong female set in the sixties before feminism was a thing. Other favorite characters were Mad (eline) Zott, and Six thirty (the dog)
I spent the time reading alternately sobbing and laughing out loud. The plot is uber dramatic but yet it all works to create a dynamic story with a message. The book is totally unputdownable!
I love how Elizabeth the chemist was also a cook and combined the two to bring a message to American women. I did find it infuriating how Elizabeth and women were treated - hopefully things continue to improve for women in out society. Many of the barriers Elizabeth faced are not gone.
This book is easily one of the most enjoyable I have read this year and I expect it to be a big hit when published 4/5/2022. I expect this could also be a big hit as a movie/TV series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the chance to preview this book. I am sure it will be a blockbuster success.

This book portrays the struggles women have had in this country to be taken seriously. Set in the 1950's, Garmus creates a female scientist who is not taken seriously, despite her obvious intellect. Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist who is taken advantage of at every turn. She finds her soulmate in Calvin Evans, another scientist who does value Elizabeth. The two live and work together until Calvin's early death.

After his death, Elizabeth finds herself pregnant and unwed. She deals with harassment and abuse trying to make a living to support herself and her daughter. Then, through their children, she meets Walter Pine. Walter works at a television station and offers Elizabeth her own cooking show. Taking the approach that cooking is chemistry and women are intelligent enough to conquer anything, Elizabeth's show becomes hugely popular.

I couldn't put this one down. Garmus paints a picture of women's struggle for equality. While there are still issues, this book illustrates how far we have come in the area of women's rights. A good nonfiction pairing with this book would be "When Everything Changed: the Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present" by Gail Collins. Recommended.

This was a wonderful debut novel. And I loved the author's voice and the very unique way she told her story. In the end the book was about so much more than expected. Including some amazing characters.
It's definitely going to be a book I'll recommend to anyone who is interested in reading something different next year. And I can already see that it will suit many readers.

For me, the book wasn't perfect, I experienced a combination of being 100% immersed and skimming and skipping at times, but I also couldn't wait to get back to the book. Maybe it was the wrong time to pick it up, I'm such a mood reader., It's a bit of a conundrum for me. BUT I'm definitely looking forward to the author's next book.

I may literally be the only person who didn't like this book... And it pains me to say that, because there was a lot about it that I really liked. But 20% in i felt like I'd read the same general plot points six or seven times already - and could not imagine forcing myself to do so for the next 3/4 of the book....

There is some magical language here, as well as some fabulous snarky dialogue and snappy comebacks (both out loud and in internal monologues). And I love what I think the book is trying to highlight, as far as the ridiculous and horrifying way women in this time period were treated, but something about it never quite worked for me. I couldn't find the thread here, despite repeated attempts.

I felt like it needed a heavy-handed edit to become truly magical - but apparently 99% off the reading world disagrees. Where Did You Go, Bernadette didn't work for me either, so maybe that's the link between others' love and my lukewarm response, although I'm a big Mrs. Maisel fan but that didn't save it for me, so who knows.

And I really don't see why everyone loved the dog SO MUCH. I found those bits odd and distracting and not fitting with the tone of the rest of the book at all. Then again, I'm a cat person so there's that...

This was a little gem of a book, which I admit surprised me. I chose to read it based on the time period (1950's) and the idea of a woman chemist in that time period. It's funny, well-written, very tongue in cheek, and also felt very real in the way it addressed the issues of the times and the need for empowerment. The characters are wicked quirky and almost defy belief, but they are memorable and lovable. It's a unique book that should appeal to almost every woman reader.

I loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (thank you NetGalley and Doubleday for this book and for supporting the publication of this amazingly insightful, humorous, and charming novel). I finished this book last night and miss being in the vibrant world and voices in this novel.

What a deceptively smart, witty, and wonderful book, I am all in for Elizabeth Zott as one of my new favorite protagonists, along with her wonderful friends (I love a book with such well developed., vibrant supporting characters, worthy of their own book particularly Harriet). I appreciate that I went into this book thinking it would be a light, charming story about a quirky woman and ended up with so much more, I loved the depth of how intelligent Elizabeth was, that she was seen as worthy for her brain but at times also her physical strength (rowing), the very clear and very real (still) experiences with misogyny in the workplace/academic spaces, and simply how this book took it's time, went at a pace that just let the story unfold in a way that felt like this is how life feels, things happen and people come in, and out, of lives. I also appreciate how Elizabeth found people who understood her, who were real and interested in who she was and in her talents, and that her daughter Mad was given a strong voice, not just written as a background child character but as a relevant voice, a character that is written with respect for how amazing young people are (similar to Bee in Where'd you go Bernadette). Finally, I also liked that this book had scientific details, depth with stories and nuance with work and rowing and cooking and simply daily lives; I never felt short changed reading this book and felt that Ms. Garmus showed a lot of respect for her characters and for readers by writing with such detail and affection for all of the voices she has created.

This is such a valuable book as it covers so many discussion worthy themes. This is surely going to be a popular book club choice for a while, I will be recommending it to my reading groups and also to my women's book club at work (very relevant there). I can't wait for the next book from Ms. Garmus.

I will share my genuine joy and love for this book and Bonnie Garmus's amazing characters in many places:
where to find my review around publication date:
https://www.dont-stop-reading.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pageus_of_books/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/131395833-meghan-pageus
amazon
B&N
https://twitter.com/PageUs_Meghan
and this one will be listed on some of my lists as a bookshop.org affiliate

Lessons in Chemistry is probably the quirkiest book I’ve read all year! Elizabeth Zott is quite the character. She is honest to a fault, a brilliant chemist, and a wonderful mother. She is not traditional by any means, but presses against every boundary faced by women of the 1960s. Despite the rampant sexism present in the field of chemistry, Elizabeth powers through determined to make a name for herself.

My absolute favorite part of this book was when Elizabeth was teaching chemistry through her tv cooking show. It was informative, encouraging, and the lessons for women were empowering. I enjoyed hearing her daughter, Mad’s, side of the story as well and how her mother was teaching her not to accept boundaries because she is a girl. There were some great life lessons there.

I had two issues with the book. First, was it was a bit too long. The beginning stretched on a bit and didn’t really grab my interest. Second (spoiler but not spoiler warning) was that her ending still involved her relationship with a man. I really wanted her to create her own success in science rather than it being in any way related to Calvin. Minor issues for an otherwise fun and quirky book. I mean who even names a dog Six-Thirty?!? I’d totally watch him on tv!

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!